The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure. Accordingly, such statements are not intended to constitute an admission of prior art.
The ice chest cooler was first introduced in the early 1950's. Ice coolers or cooler devices are available in almost every size, shape and color. Some coolers have handles and wheels to help make transporting the cooler easier. Another feature that most coolers have in common is a drain at the bottom of the cooler to help drain the water from the melting ice.
Ice cubes, dry ice and ice packs are used to keep food and drinks cold within a cooler device. Coolers today incorporate more and better insulation to help slow down the ice from melting within the cooler. Add-on features like Bluetooth® speakers for music and USB charger to charge your cell phone are offered as enhancing features.
A problem with using ice cubes or ice packs as the means to keep food and drinks cold is the amount of interior space that ice cubes and ice packs take up within the cooler. A typical cooler is designed with a large single cooling cavity to hold the beverages, food, and other objects to be kept cold. Ice cubes or other similar cooling elements take up as much as 20% to 40% of the interior space within the cooler which reduces the amount of available space for food and drinks.
A second problem when using ice cubes is the watery mess created when the ice cube melts. The cooler device typically ends up filled with water, making it more difficult to keep food dry. Using ice cubes requires constant draining of the melted water.
A third problem is the time and effort required to create the ice cubes for the cooler. Water spills normally happen when filling and placing the ice cubes trays within the freezer. Removing the ice cubes from the ice trays can be difficult when the ice cubes won't come out of the tray. Another common problem is keeping the food cold. The temperature generated by using ice cubes is 32-38 degrees. Keeping the beverages cold is easy because the drinks can be placed directly in between the ice cubes. Placing food within the ice cubes can result in wet food. However, temperature stratification within the cooler can be problematic, with food suspended over the ice cubes not being kept as cold as desired. Cold temperature generated by the ice cubes remains within 1-2 inches above the ice cubes.